May Catch All

[nastyboy]

Who: Team Femblemtroika and whoever gets dragged into their nonsense
What: It's time to recover from Prom. Let's hope that works out for a month.
When: The entirety of May
Where: Olivine, Mahogany, and who knows where else

Comments

For Chip - Good Fishing

[nastyboy]

Dimitri wasn't sure if any of them would want to head out to the Lake of Rage. Unlike with Mahogany Town, it would take a bit of time to go visit and with no warp pad for them to instantly get back to the town. No Pokecenters either, from what he understands...

But with the recent evolution of one of his Magikarp, a hasty visit to a large body of water was going to be necessary anyway... And with Jane's gift of excellent s'more ingredients, well, it just seems to make sense.

And now that they're here... Dimitri has been steadily recovering from the events of prom, and that all seems to come to a head when they arrive at the Lake of Rage. The brilliant evergreens, the reassuring embrace of the mountains all around them, and the crystal-like surface of the lake - it's like coming home for him. Faerghus was a cold and harsh land in many ways, but it had many aspects of it that were beautiful as well, like this place.

While everyone else is setting up at the cabin they've managed to rent out, Dimitri gets permission to unleash his inner-and-not-massively-traumatized child along with the actual child in their travel group.

So that's how they end up at one of the docks in a little rented boat, with Dimitri tossing some bags onto it. "Have you ever been on a boat before, Chip?" Dimitri asks excitedly, while Grindy the Kingler eyes the water alongside him.

[demonpuppy]

"Never!" they exclaim with excitement, jumping up and down next to Dimitri as he loads up the little boat. "I never even went to a pool before!"

That might be cause for concern, but even aside from all the water types that Chip has with them Grant had made very sure that Chip would be following all the safety rules and wearing their life vest properly.

"I did a little bit of fishing when we got here, though. That's how I got Red!" Who isn't...red anymore, but it's fine. She likes her name!

[nastyboy]

Seeing Chip so excited... It makes Dimitri smile all the more. IT's so good to see that they can still be happy after the mess that happened during the prom. That's the important thing for him.

"It's good that Grant was teaching you how to swim back at Soy and Riegfried's mansion," he says, taking a little more care in how he places down a basket full of sandwiches for the two of them. So many sandwiches - some of them spicy, some of them with lettuce and tomato and things that give a satisfying crunch. "Lakes like this absolutely should be enjoyed to the fullest, especially on hot summer days."

Pausing, he takes stock of everything that he's put into the boat. They have the fishing poles, some things to put on the end of the lines, first aid kits just in case, the lunch...

He thinks he can see everything they need, so Dimitri turns to Chip with a smile and holds his hand out to them. "Alright, let's go! You remember what Grant said about boat safety, didn't you?"

This is asked by a man who may also have had to duck into a small private space with Grant, and inquire about proper (modern) boat safety, which is why he Dimitri is also wearing a life vest.

[demonpuppy]

The good thing about kids and bad experiences is that time is way less relatively compressed and they can bounce back easily from minor traumas. (The bad thing about Chip is that 'being possessed by a ghost and almost hurting people you care about' is a minor trauma.)

Chip beams and grabs Dimitri's hand, letting him heft them down into the boat as well. "I remember! Don't put my hands in or tip it over!" The boat, small as it is, does rock a bit in the water as Chip shifts their weight, and they grip tighter onto Dimitri's hand to keep their balance.

"--whoa!! I-I'm not trying to--!"

[nastyboy]

Dimitri immediately reaches out to keep them steady, a hand on their shoulder, and smiles reassuringly. "I know, don't worry. I didn't think you did that on purpose or otherwise." What he does think is that it's important to reassure Chip for things like this. He doesn't want their first thoughts to be that someone will blame them whenever anything goes wrong.

He just waits for the boat to calm a little, and then ruffles their hair. "Besides, I'm here with you, and so are all our Palien friends. Even if something does happen, we'll be okay. Do you want to let your friends out now, or wait until we're a little further out - ah, hello, Grindy."

That would be his giant murder crab finally scuttling into the water himself, his massive weight sending small waves against their boat.

[demonpuppy]

They hold as still as they can while the boat settles, and manage a little smile when Dimitri ruffles their hair--which quickly turns into a wide grin when he mentions their Pokemon. "Oh yeah! --um, I think maybe its too shallow for Red here, though? She's really big, and letting everyone else out early doesn't seem fair..."

[nastyboy]

"Of course," Dimitri agrees, getting the oars in hand now. "And we have to be fair to everyone, don't we?"

Grindy, obviously, does not count, but he's just here as a deterrent so that they can get out onto the water quickly. As Dimitri pushes them away from the dock, Grindy begins to swim alongside them. For such a massive tank of a crab, he seems to know his positioning well enough. Dimitri doesn't bump into him at all, whether with oar or boat. "You just tell me when to stop," Dimitri tells Chip. "So, are you looking forward to catching another Palien here?"